While LinkedIn hasn’t yet got sucked into any Facebook/Cambridge Analytica data scandals, it’s always a good idea to take control of what data social media companies keep. The first step is discovery. Here’s how to find out what data LinkedIn is holding on you.

First, log in to your LinkedIn account. Click your photo at the top-right of the screen and you’ll see Settings & Privacy underneath ACCOUNT. Select this.

Now click the Privacy tab at the top. You’ll see a screen rather similar to the one below.

Scroll down until you reach the “How LinkedIn uses your data” section. Click on “Download your data” and you’re offered the following options:

As you can see, you can pick and choose data files, but here I’ve selected “The works”. LinkedIn prompts you to enter your password again, and then your job is done.

A summary email appears within a few minutes: this contains a link that will take you back to the privacy settings page, where you’ll find a link to a ZIP download. This contains a handy summary of information LinkedIn holds (including all messages sent to you since you joined), which may be enough.

Want more details? No problem: LinkedIn’s full data dump will be ready within 24 hours.

However, if there’s too much to get rid of granularly then you may decide your only option is to close your account: this automatically deletes your data within 30 days. Fortunately, LinkedIn does make it easy to close your account: simply head here.